


Something Pink, Something Blue and Someone Purple

by Electrickittenshark



Series: Being Bi Together [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry and Ralph are P.I. buddies, Barry is Bi, Bisexuality, Gender swapping meta, M/M, Ralph is Bi, The story gets kinda meta about the homoromatic and homoerotic subtext in the show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-05 18:20:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14624369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Electrickittenshark/pseuds/Electrickittenshark
Summary: Dibny and Allen, investigate a string of cases where people claim to have had their genders switched. After a series of gender bending shenanigans, Ralph reveals a new shade of himself to Barry. His story helps Barry grapple with his feelings of confusion and fear around his own sexuality. The story takes place in an alternate universe where Barry and Iris aren't engaged after he got out of the speed force.





	1. A burning question

After an intense battle with a meta who can summon volcanos, The Flash picks up Elongated Man in his arms and whooshes back to Star Labs. Little did he know that Ralph was casually sipping on soda and he spilled 80% of the drink on his beloved suit. What follows is a two-hour long rant about how Barry isn't Ralph’s speedy chauffer and how he will deny Ralph the privilege to ride on the red and gold speed train if he ever snacks again during whoosing time. Barry glares at Ralph as he points at the giant Orangina stain on his suit for the tenth time. Ralph tries to scoot out of the cortex, but Barry slams his hand on Ralph’s shoulder. Ralph lets out an exasperated sigh and says, “C’mon man, let it go!” Barry rants, “You spilled soda all over my suit! You have any idea how hard it is to clean red leather?” Ralph looks down at his feet and quietly whispers, “I was really thirsty, okay?”

Barry takes a deep breath and mutters, “I swear, someday—”

Ralph smiles cheekily and mischievously retorts with, “What, you finally going to throw that lightning bolt up my ass?” Barry’s face turns red and he grumbles, “Don't. Tempt. Me.” Ralph chuckles and smacks Barry on the shoulder. He winks at him and swings his hips as he walks out of the lab. Barry ends up asking himself one burning question, _‘Is he flirting with me?’_

For most of his adolescence and adulthood one person, one thought dominated his mind: **Iris. Iris. Iris.** The thought of being attracted to another person, let alone another gender was out of the question. After living through his entire life in the speed force multiple times Barry started to question his relationship with Iris. He didn’t have the heart to go through with the wedding. It was difficult and awkward breaking things off, but Iris was surprisingly understanding and supportive. But now, Barry finds himself feeling pulled towards his new mentee and partner. He had started to notice little details about Ralph, like the way his eyes would light up whenever he got any attention from the press or the way his face would scrunch up whenever he was confused by all of the scientific jargon or the way he would smile at him whenever they would work on a new case together. 

Barry chuckles when he remembers Ralph giving him his own card stating: Barry Allen, Private Investigator. Every now and then when Ralph reveals a sweeter side, and Barry can help but feel his heart melt a bit. He thinks, ‘ _I mean, objectively speaking Ralph is an attractive guy. He’s tall, he’s muscular, he has a distinct jawline. He has tiny dimples that form around his lips when he smiles at me. There is also the weird but cute nose twitchy thing he does—Wait, where the hell is **this** going? I can’t feel that way about **him** , right? Right?’_

Barry takes out his “secret binder” and adds a few more studies in. He thinks, ‘ _Maybe this will help me make sense of things._ ’ He speedreads all of the literature on bisexuality, pansexuality and homosexuality. At the end of his research spree, he feels even more confused. A part of him wants to talk to someone. A part of him wants to reach out to Joe, or Caitlin or Cisco or hell—even Ralph, but he feels completely mortified, confused and even a bit embarrassed at this point. He chooses not to say a word until he had figured shit out.

Barry panics when he sees Ralph stretching his neck next to him and scrunching his face in confusion as he tries to understand the graphs. He smirks and asks flirtatiously, “Hey Allen, what are you fantasying about?” Barry rolls his eyes and hastily retorts with, “Get your head out the gutter, Ralph!” Ralph snickers and says, “Actually Allen, I need your help with a case. We can be P.I. buddies together with matching name cards! What do you say?”

Barry couldn’t resist Ralph’s charming and gleeful smile.

He smiles back and replies with, “Okay, but no snacking during Whoosh time.” Ralph winks at him and gives him a thumbs-up.

* * *

**This actually happened in the comics:**

https://imgur.com/JVk4Uer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Based on the recent rise in fanfics on here, which focus on ElongtedFlash or Ralphy, I can say with certainty that I am not the only who sees the homoromantic and homoerotic subtext in Ralph and Barry’s relationship. There is a head canon in the fandom that Ralph and Barry are “Bisexual Bros” if you will. As someone who is bi and wants to see more bisexual characters in fiction, I thought maybe I could write a story where they connect over their mutual bisexuality. I may write a series of short stories which focus on a romantic relationship between the two of them and Barry coming to terms with being Bi.


	2. Purple Eyes

Ralph is quietly sieving through the intel he collected on Devoe, when suddenly a disheveled and horrified woman barges into the office and screams, “YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!” Ralph says, “Hey, it’s okay, just breathe. We will sort shit out. How about you slow down, introduce yourself and tell me what you want.” She says, “I know that I don’t look like a David, but I’m David Chen. I know this sounds crazy, but then again, we live in a city with people who can shoot lava out of their asses but anyways, last night—I was a man, okay? A happy gay man who was having the time of his life. I met this cute guy with purple eyes and everything was going well, you know? Then I woke up today, brushed my teeth, took a shit—”

Ralph sarcastically interrupts with, “You’re a woman now. Yeah, that sounds like the plot of a badly written 90’s gender swapping teen rom com.” The woman screams, “This isn't a joke! I went to the cops and they didn't really take me that seriously. I heard from one of my besties that you bust cheating spouses and deal with weird cases. Honestly these two things don't seem to be connected at all, but anyways I thought, hey maybe you can help me. I’ll like pay you lot, so please?” Ralph smiles and replies with, “Okay. I just need to consult my partner.” David gives him a knowing wink. Ralph sighs and says, “He’s a former forensic scientist—” She panics and asks, “Former?” Ralph replies defensively, “He is good. Like, really good. He was framed for murder and CCPD is too damn stupid to take him back! Look, I have to ask you couple of questions about what happened, get your details and get more info about who you were with, especially the purple eyed guy.” She shows him her phone and says, “Oh, I took this adorable selfie with him.”

Ralph places his finger on his lip as he examines the slightly androgynous features of the purple eyed man. He could swear he saw the man’s eye glow for a moment. David and Ralph discuss the case, before Ralph scoots over Star Labs. He could just walk into the cortex, but stretching his neck in and freaking out Barry is way more entertaining. After coaxing Barry into being his P.I. “buddy”, Ralph runs off to figure out where he could find his mystery purple eyed man. Barry diligently analyses DNA samples from David before and after he became a woman. He could feel his bottom lip twitch in excitement as he waited for the results. A part of Barry misses being a CSI and the thrill of discovering tiny, vital details that crack the case open. Even though he acted like he was annoyed when Ralph asked him for his help, he is actually really happy that he can use his skills as CSI again. Ralph barges in and yells, “Hey Rookie! I figured out where Purple Eyes is.” He slams down his messy file on Barry’s desk and says, “He or she is regular at Just John’s Club.” Barry panics for a moment before asking, “What do you mean by he or she? Isn't Just John’s Club a gay bar?” Ralph scoffs and retorts with, “So what? They have an open bar and that’s all that matters! Geez, Allen I thought you would be more open minded. As for the he or she thing, well I found other suspiciously similar cases. Here’s the catch, in all of cases the people met a man or woman with purple eyes. I think our meta can switch their own. Isn't that cool?”

Barry sighs and says, “You know before leap to conclusions, let’s just wait for the results okay?” He is quietly finishing up the DNA assembly and karyotyping, while Ralph is singing a tone-deaf version of the CSI: Miami theme song. Barry sighs and asks, “What are you doing, Ralph?” Ralph mumbles, “What? I thought you should have a badass theme song playing in background when you do CSI stuff. Look man, I don’t get any of the science babble. I mean it's like **_oooooooooh_** look at the pink water turning green, that means Butler did it.” Barry chuckles and retorts with, “That’s not how that works! But, David’s story kind of checks out. There is dark matter in the DNA samples and it looks his Y chromosome got switched for an X chromosome. The rest of the sequencing and karyotype is practically the same. We’re definitely with a meta who can switch sexes.”

Ralph bites his lip and asks in a low voice, “So, are you going to come with me?”

Barry quietly gawks at him before replying with, “Wait, what? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m going to do that. Yes, I am going to do that. We can bring him or her or thee over and Caitlin can help with the—” Ralph smacks him on the back and yells, “Well that’s awesome! I’ll see you there at 8. Don't forget to look fabulous!” Ralph practically skips out of the cortex and Barry smiles shyly.

Later that day, Barry heads to Just John’s in a pair of khakis and his blue sweater. His jaw drops when he sees Ralph in a tight silk purple shirt with a giant V-neck. His mouth dries up and he mutters, “Uh…Hey.” Ralph rants, “Geez, Rookie you like a cross between a nun and an accountant from the 1950’s. Where is flair, man? The style? The bedazzle factor?” Barry pulls himself together and mutters, “Let’s just go in, okay?” 

He feels completely overwhelmed by the bright pink and blue lights glaring at him. For a moment, he goes into Flash Time. He takes a long look at all of the men some are dressed in tank tops, some are completely shirtless and then there is—Ralph, with his glimmering eyes and adorable smile. His sight drifts towards Ralph’s chest for minute, before he snaps out of Flash Time. Ralph exclaims, “Aha! There he is! Okay, I will pull him towards us with my mind control! Nah, I’m just kidding, I’m going to flirt with him.” He winks at purpled eyed man and shoots him with one his classic charming smiles. Barry thinks, ‘Damn, _that smile can bring dead puppies back to life.’_

Devon walks over and says to Ralph in sultry voice, “Hello, there.” He notices Ralph’s arm stretching out to grab peanuts. He whispers happily, “Oh, I see, you’re a meta too.” Ralph chuckles and says, “I was trying to hide it at first but I kind of got lazy and gave up.” Devon asks mischievously, “Well, you wanna know my secret super power?” He quickly shifts back and forth between his male and female form. He says in a low tone, “I hope that’s not a problem for you.” Ralph chuckles and flirtatiously replies with, “Well that’s really not a problem for me! I swing both ways.” Barry silently mouths the words ‘oh’ and gawks at Ralph. Ralph looks at Barry with a twinge of pain in his eyes before he goes back to flirting with Devon. He whispers, “Listen, um, you have been turning switching people’s sex by touching them.” Devon panics and says, “No. No. No I-I don't think I can do that. I mean, my powers didn't kick in until recently, so I don't know—” Barry says, “Look, it’s okay, we can help you.” 

Devon begs desperately, “Please don't take away my powers!” Ralph reassures him by saying, “Don't worry, we won’t do that. We’ll help you figure out how to control your powers. Right, Barry?” Barry bobs his head up and down. Devon says softly, “Before I got my powers, I felt like a girl sometimes and other times I felt like being a guy. I was always trapped in the middle. Now, I can switch between the two any time I want and it feels amazing!” Ralph states softly, “I know. Once you embrace it there is no going back. By way, you look fabulous as a man and a woman.” Barry feels a twinge of jealously, when Devon twirls around and replies with, “Really? Thank you!” They discuss his powers in more depth, before Barry asks Devon to drop by Star Labs tomorrow for testing and training.

Barry whooshes Ralph back to Star Labs. They are both emotionally crippled by the fifteen minutes of awkward silence while Ralph grabs his things. Barry thinks, _‘Should I ask him? I mean, is it my place to ask him? What if he was lying? What if it was a joke? What if, he knows how I feel and he’s been toying with me the whole time?’_

Barry awkwardly mumbles, “So, you’re—”

Ralph mutters, “Yup.” 

Barry asks hesitantly, “Why didn't you tell—” 

Ralph sardonically interrupts with, “Well, I’m **_so_** sorry for not painting a rainbow across my bare chest and tattooing, ‘ _I love to bang bros and babes’_ on my forehead. Yeah, I’m bi. So, what?” 

Barry fumbles with his words as he says, “I-It’s nothing. I’m not judging you or anything like that, I—” 

Ralph mutters coldly, “Drop it Allen. Let’s just help Devon, okay?” He walks out of the cortex in tears, as he remembers the look of disgust Barry gave him when he stated that ‘he swung both ways.’ He is use to falling in love with straight men who can't love him back. He is use to confessing his love to close male friends, only to have them drift away from him and awkwardly avoid him. Even though he is use to these things, he doesn't have the heart to go through that with Barry. Not his mentor. Not his idol. Not his partner. A small voice in his mind is telling him that Barry is drawn to him, but it's probably a delusional fantasy. 

He knows that someone as good as Barry, wouldn't fall for a screwed-up man like Ralph Dibny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: I’m a bit surprised by the fact that people actually like this fic. I’m glad that aside from me, there are other people who are thirsty for Elongated Flash, because I love Barry and Ralph’s chemistry on the show. Frankly speaking, I love the idea of Barry and Ralph being P.I. partners together. Like Barry is the sexy, by the book P.I. Ralph is the eccentric vampire/zombie/ghost/monk/fake psychic/human silly putty who bends the rules, but has a heart of gold. There is like ten seasons worth of sexual tension before they kiss. If ABC or NBC greenlight a silly cop show where Barry and Ralph solve crimes together, I would watch the shit out of it. Which is why I decided to write a fic where they have to track a gender swapping meta in gay bar. In the show, Ralph has abonnement issues and tendency to get defensive when he feels like he is being attacked. I wanted to weave that into my story. Barry looked at Ralph in shock and confusion, because he is struggling with his own bisexuality. Unfortunately, Ralph interprets it as a look of disgust and judgement, because of his own past experiences. 
> 
> Don't worry guys, I won't make you wait for nine seasons for a kiss. See you, in Chapter 3 :)


	3. Clueless Together

Barry lies on his bed, as he thinks about the everything that happened at the night club. He didn't notice at first just how comfortable and carefree Ralph was at Just John’s. How there was a twinkle in his eye when he started flirting with Devoe. Barry cringes internally, remembers how hurt Ralph looked when he gawked at him. He gets up when he hears a knock on the door and a small smile spreads across his face, when he sees Ralph with a bottle of Gingold and five dozen donuts. 

Ralph smiles and greets him with, “Hey, Rookie.” 

Barry softly replies with, “Hey.” 

Ralph blurts, “Look, I’m sorry for turning into a defensive dick yesterday. You know it's just that I have dealt with people who judged me for being a bi unicorn and I just thought that, you were—”

Barry explains with desperation, “I swear, Ralph. I wasn’t judging you. I was…I was just kind of confused and shocked.” 

Ralph earnestly smiles at him and asks, “Is it because you’re not sure about what **_you_** are?”

There is a long stretch of silence as they gaze at each other, wondering if they’re the same. 

Barry contemplates his answer to Ralph’s question for a few moments, but even with his sped-up thoughts his mind can't come with anything. So, he innocently asks, “So…um I have to ask you. Were you flirting with me?” Ralph bursts into laughter and cheekily asks himself, “Was I flirting with you?” He pauses for moment, before ranting, “Barry, for the love of Beebo, I asked you if you would help me get into my skin tight super suit! OF COURSE, I WAS FLIRTNG WITH YOU! How could you not tell? Geez, and I thought I was the clueless idiot.” Barry smacks him on the shoulder and whines, “Hey!” Ralph smirks and mumbles cockily, “Well it’s obvious that you were checking me out as well.” Barry panics and rambles, “Whaaaaaaat? NO. NO. I wasn’t doing anything like that.”

Ralph cracks a cheeky smile and imitates Barry’s voice while saying, “I will make it my personal mission your heart.” Barry quickly retorts with, “You're taking things out of context.” Ralph rolls his eyes and says, “Really, Allen? **_Really?_** That was some Sixteen Candles, Hugh Grant with a bouquet of roses and a boom box playing **_I Will Always Love You_** , shit right there.” Barry tries to avoid Ralph’s gaze as his heart desperately tries to deny the possibility that he may have actually fallen for him. Ralph sighs and says, “C’mon Rookie, I spent five years of my life busting horny idiots who cheated on their spouses. Did you really think that I wouldn't figure that that **_you_** have the hots for me?”

Ralph walks around the apartment and stumbles across Barry’s gigantic binder of studies on sexual orientation. Ralph reads the titles of some of the studies and asks quizzically, “Barry, are you trying to science your way out of the closet?” Barry awkwardly nods his head. Ralph chuckles and says, “Allen—you, adorable nerd.” He remarks, “Well it's better than sneaking out at midnight to buy old playgirl magazines and gay detective erotica from the 1960’s from an aloof weirdo in a dark alley.” 

Ralph chuckles to himself, but he is utterly crestfallen when he sees how scared and vulnerable Barry looks. He thinks, ‘ _Maybe if I open up about what I went through, it will be easier for him.’_ However, this is easier said than done. Talking about his leap from the closet is painful, even after all these years. Even when he knows that Barry won’t judge him, he can feel an invisible cross laden belt straggling his words. He takes a deep breath and tries to tell Barry what he went through. He starts with, “Well, where I grew up…it’s not like…”

He buries his head in hands and tears up as he starts remembering how the other people in his home town either looked at him in disgust or ignored him completely. He finally lets out an exasperated sigh and admits, “It’s not like you could drive around in a pink convertible screaming: We’re totally gay together, you guys! You had to discrete about that shit. We had a stupid secret code, but I kinda got sloppy and well, by the end of the day…everyone knew. I mean, Waymore is a small town with a bunch of bored busybodies so, of course **_everyone_** knew.” Barry slowly inches towards Ralph and listens intently. Ralph lets out a caustic laugh and recounts, “You know the funny thing is, I tried to get a job at WPD, but I never got hired. I didn’t figure out **_why_** I was rejected until one of the older cops made fun of me during another interview and asked me if I was going to home to cry over my boyfriend’s shoulder.”

He laughs sadly before continuing, “Well, at least I got a decent excuse to ditch that dump. Look man, no one will erupt out a volcano and eat you for being gay or bi or whatever. Everyone here is pretty chill about this stuff. I mean, c’mon you have a gay police captain! That shit wouldn't happen in Waymore.” Barry rambles in confusion, “Ralph, I don't know…I don’t know what I am. Or what I’m feeling or what I am supposed to feel. I have no idea what is happening and I—” 

Ralph places his hand on Barry’s shoulder and says, “It’s okay Barry, you don't have to put a label on it, right away. I still have moments where I’m confused. But then again, I have no idea what's happening ninety percent of the time so, I just bullshit my way through life.” Barry finally chuckles and Ralph lovingly smiles back at him. He sticks out his tongue and says teasingly, “What? You want me to make everything better with a kiss?” Barry looks at Ralph earnestly and slowly nods his head. Ralph whispers, “Okay.” He leans in and gently kisses him for bit before pulling away and smiling awkwardly, wondering what the hell he is supposed to say next. The moment Barry looks into Ralph’s eyes, he thinks, ‘ _God, I want more._ ’ Barry finally catches his breathe and says, “You know, maybe I should just do a few more trials to be sure—” 

Ralph says, “Barry, just dive into the magical pool of rainbows and sparkles. See what happens.” Barry rambles, “I…I t-thought I would have a big epic revelation after I kissed you. I mean, I liked it but I don’t know what that actually means for me. Am I gay guy who loved a couple of women or am I straight guy who fell for one man? Am I bisexual or am I a pansexual? What the hell am I? I…I just feel **_so_** clueless.”

Ralph chuckles and replies softly, “Well, we can be clueless together.”

Barry smiles at Ralph and places his head against Ralph’s shoulder. His grip on Ralph’s hand becomes firmer, as Ralph kisses his forehead and smiles at him. They both gaze out the window, mesmerized by the blue moon and the sea of possibilities in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: In the comics, Ralph is from Waymore which is located in Nebraska. Even though in Nebraska same-sex marriage and adoption by same sex couples is technically legal, they don’t have any anti-discrimination laws with protect LGBT people (aside from Omaha). I thought I could weave that into Ralph’s story about grappling with his bisexuality. In the show, it's established that Ralph isn’t very good at managing or expressing emotions, I wanted to reflect that by having him struggle to share his ‘coming out’ story with Barry. He may be comfortable with his sexuality now, but the initial coming stage is still a painful memory for him. I always liked the contrast the show created between Barry and Ralph. I wanted to build on that contrast by having Ralph grow up in an environment that wasn't LGBT friendly whereas Barry is in a more accepting environment. I may write more fics, where Ralph helps Barry explore his bisexuality and they date in secret for a bit, before Barry comes out.
> 
> Extra info: The literal blue moon is a result of Central City’s atmosphere being filled with volcanic ash/tiny particles, because of the meta from the first chapter who is basically human volcano. Depending on the size of the particles in the air the way the light reflected off moon scatters changes. Due to the reduced distance between the particles in the air, smaller wavelengths of light like blue light diffract more hence making the moon seem blue. I thought Barry and Ralph looking at a blue moon would be a nice way to close the fic. I don't know why I’m explaining the science behind a literal blue moon. Just because, I guess.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [love comes in many forms](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14807600) by [georgiehensley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiehensley/pseuds/georgiehensley)




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